B.R.I.C.S

B.R.I.C.S is an acronym coined in 2001 for an association of developing economic countries that are predicted to have the strongest economies in 2050 by Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs. The countries that make up BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This association is not a political alliance or a formal trading association. These countries simply attend annual summits together and share ideas about the paths their countries will continue to take to ensure economic and political growth in the world. It is quite interesting talking about BRICS because the theory states that these countries will have the largest economies by 2050. However, that does not necessarily mean they will be the richest. Ironically, all of these countries today do have a low unemployment rate but they also have a high poverty rate compared to the rest of the world due to their increased class inequality and high populations. These five countries make up almost 50% of the world’s population and four out of the five rank in the top ten national populations.

The only way this theory can be achieved, is if these countries submit to making economic friendly and driven decisions in order to reach economic success. It is not to say that these countries would not prosper but the criticism to the theory of BRICS is that it is simply too vague and idealistic to assume that these countries will make these types of economic decisions for the next thirty years. It is also key to note that almost a hundred years ago it would be unheard of to believe that Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa would be viewed as rising developing countries.

1.Brazil in 1915: Political instability, economic incoherence and military dictatorships dominated the country at the time.

2.Russia in 1915: The Russian Revolution was taking place at the time, where the Soviets would rise as the new leaders of government. Nonetheless by 1919, almost 20 million Russians died in World War 1, which simply decimated the labor force.

3.India in 1915: Under British rule, and slowly started to begin the fight for independence.

4.China in 1915: Isolationism was their tactic. They shut off all communication and trade with the outside world. They also had a rising power in Japan beginning to cause some upheaval and friction in the region.

5. South Africa in 1915: Just like India, it was under British control and had very little independent economic development to begin with.